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Pro Volleyball League: Kochi Blue Spikers beat Ahmedabad Defenders 3-2

Lee scored 10 points as Kochi beat Ahmedabad 10-15, 15-11, 11-15,15-12, 15-12

Kochi Blue Spikers captain Mohan Ukkrapandian (blue jersey no. 16) in action against the U Mumba Volley during the opening match of the Pro Volleyball League, in Kochi

Olympic gold medallist David Lee shone bright as Kochi Blue Spikers continued their unbeaten run, edging out Ahmedabad Defenders 3-2 in a Pro Volleyball League fixture in Kochi on Wednesday.

Lee scored 10 points (7 spikes, 2 blocks and 1 serve point) as Kochi beat Ahmedabad 10-15, 15-11, 11-15,15-12, 15-12 in a thrilling match. Victor Sysoev was the stand-out performer for Ahmedabad Defenders with 13 points (11 spikes and 2 blocks) to his name.

Ahmedabad started the first set with a flurry of points with Gurinder Singh hitting three spikes and one block to give his team a 4-0 lead. Riding on the momentum Ahmedabad called for a Super Point at 5-1 and converted the same in style as Mandeep Singh landed a Super Serve to increase the lead to 7-1. After trailing at 3-8 at the Technical Time Out (TTO), Kochi came out with fire in their belly clinching two consecutive points. Rightly they called for a Super Point but lost the conversion opportunity owing to a block by Victor Sysoev. Kochi looked as if they will stage a comeback as the lead was narrowed down to 13-10 but Ahmedabad made sure that didn’t happen and closed the set 15-10.

The second set looked more of a competition as both the teams were matching each other move after move. At 7-7, Kochi called for a Super Point and a won it going into the TTO at 9-7. Kochi continued with their attacking game as David Lee and Andrej Patuc with combined points from spike and serve helped Kochi increase their lead to 14-11. Manu Joseph added the finishing touch with a spike, as Kochi won the set 15-11.

Kochi continued from where they left in the last set as they raced to a 5-2 lead with Lee, Patuc and Joseph again the architects of the lead. Ahmedabad showed resilience and levelled the score at 7-7 but an error at the net by Novica Bjelica gave Kochi a point advantage at TTO. Post TTO, it was a hard-fought battle till 11-11 before Kochi called for a Super Point and Ahmedabad broke their serve to gain the advantage. Immediately, seeing the opening, Ahmedabad called for a Super Point and Sysoev’s well-timed block helped his team win the set 15-11 and a 2-1 advantage in the match.

In the fourth set Ahmedabad really looked positive and went into an 8-4 lead. At 8-4, Ahmedabad called for a Super Point and missed the opportunity. Immediately, Kochi called for a Super Point and converted to level the score at 8-8. Till the very end it looked like anyone’s set before two consecutive points by Kochi at 13-12 helped them close the set at 15-12 and match went into a decider.

In the decider, Kochi looked like running away with the match as they established a 6-1 lead with the help of one super serve and a serve point by Ukkrapandian. Ahmedabad, with their never-say-die attitude, staged a comeback and reduced the deficit to 7-8.

Kochi, which seemed like losing steam, now took the initiative in their hands and a Super Serve by K. Praveen Kumar gave his team a four-point lead at 11-7. Kochi wanting to end the game in a hurry called for a Super Point, but lost the opportunity. The set was heading towards a nail-biting finish with the score at 11-10 in favour of Kochi. In the end, Kochi held on to their nerves as an error on serve by Ranjit Singh gave Kochi the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Ukkrapandian was adjudged the player of the match.

(With PTI inputs)